As
usual, these trips really begin well before people arrive onboard, as they go
over gear lists, check the weather on the web, and exchange thoughts, hopes
and fears by email.All
that happens for the captains, too, so by the time we actually meet at the
boat, the trip is well underway.That
said, most of the crew had checked in by the afternoon of June 27th, and
several of us had dinner together that evening, before starting in earnest to
go over the boat and our plans the next day.

6/28 Tom, Dahl, David and
Don gathered bright and early to begin the training dockside with me and the
mate, Jerry Nigro, a licensed captain in his own right who’s probably done
about as many of these Bermuda runs as I have, several of them with me.Wasn’t hard, since only Tom was staying ashore.In what passed for the still air of the morning we set, reef,and strike all plain sail, and the trisail as well.We also went over the whole process to set and retrieve the
sea anchor.Departing from the
usual training plan, we spent the afternoon refastening the tang on the pulpit
that the headstay attaches to, which had taken new strains on the way out, as
we had changed the lead a bit before the last trip.The new strain angle revealed that two of the four bolts holding the
tang down had given under the tensile load some time earlier, but not been
evident.While half the crew
worked on that, the other half used the time to do the privisioning at
Somer’s market.Long day, with
the showers at Captain Smoke’s marine most welcome.

6/29Juggling to cover the training we missed with
yesterday’s repair job, we talked of cruise planning, weather and weather
resources, emergencies, and how we’re prepared to deal with them, and put
people to work on their pre-departure checklists. Two of our students, Don and
Tom, are actually instructors for the school in the courses taught in and
around the Chesapeake, and we’ll appreciate and put to work their expertise.By 1700, the boat is ready, and the crew is ready, and the
weather looks good - we’re still under the influence of a huge Bermuda high,
that promises fair winds for at least the first few days of the voyage.We clear Bermuda customs, top fuel & water, get permission from
Bermuda Harbor Radio, and are going back on EDT and clearing Town Cut by 1830.Light tail winds carry us north of the bank, and by midnight are
filling in heavier, letting us take a healthy reach toward Norfolk.

6/30The morning finds us well out of sight of Bermuda, booming along on a
fine fast reach in gathering SW wind.Bermuda
lontails circle us a few times in a farewell salute.By afternoon, breeze has picked up enough to put in first reef, with no
loss of speed - still doing six to eight knots. The
seas are growing with the breeze, and a few of the crew are discovering for
the first time that feeling good while sailing isn’t guaranteed.Occasional showers add to the wind speed, and rinse the boat.

7/1Morning comes with multiple rain shower/squalls.For the first, we fumble a bit getting the genoa in, but with practice
it becomes more routine.At one point we discover a small wear tear near the clew, and
bring the genny down to sew a bit.In
short order it’s back up, and holds nicely for the remainder of the trip.Carrying sail repair materials is part of the offshore routine. By late
afternoon the skies are clearing, and we sail on.Forecast tells us that a front that might have affected us as we
approached the Gulf Stream has dissipated.

7/2Sailing well under double reefed main, and - ho
hum - great SW winds, even if a bit cloudy, with prospects of more squalls.Some bring us winds close to 30 knots, for which we roll up the Genoa.We’ve been sailing with the stats’l set in reaching conditions,
which makes it very convenient to roll up the genny whenever big wind
threatens, and still have some fore triangle working.By evening, winds are abating, and we do some motorsailing.

7/3By morning, winds have dropped considerably, and we
motor.The calming seas are not
altogether unwelcome, although the worst of the seasickness had passed a day
earlier.For amusement and
education, we dip some Sargassum, the ubiquitous weed of the Atlantic gyre, to
examine the ecosystem it carries, with Sargassum triggerfish, filefish, shrimp,
nudibranchs, crabs, and the queen of the lot - histrio histrio - the
Sargussumfish, which eats anything up to it’s own size in one gulp. Crossing
the Gulf Stream is a breeze, so to speak, with calm seas, and a reward for all
that trolling in the form about a 20# wahoo, which feeds us all a generous
dinner, and snacks all the way home.

7/4Happy Birthday America!Will we see the fireworks along the shorline as we approach?SW wind is back, with enough W in it to have us beating hard, but not yet
having to tack.A little engine
gives us a better angle on the wind, and we make our way into the Chesapeake and
to Taylor’s Landing by dark.From where we sit in our nice protected slip, God’s
fireworks in the form of a pretty healthy thunderstorm, with lots of lightning,
dwarfs any we might have seen from the municipal display."Home is the sailor, home from the sea, and the
hunter home from the hill."